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Game of Thrones return sparks huge surge in internet piracy Game of Thrones return sparks huge surge in internet piracy
(11 days later)
The prospect of the return of Game of Thrones has prompted a hugesurge in internet piracy, with fans making more than 100,000 illegaldownloads per day of episodes of the show. The prospect of the return of Game of Thrones has prompted a huge surge in internet piracy, with fans making more than 100,000 illegal downloads per day of episodes of the show.
The hit HBO show has seen an almost 50% year-on-year increase in thenumber of episodes illegally downloaded in the months ahead of theeagerly-anticipated premiere of season five on Sky Atlantic on Sundaynight. The hit HBO show has seen an almost 50% year-on-year increase in the number of episodes illegally downloaded in the months ahead of the eagerly-anticipated premiere of season five on Sky Atlantic on Sunday night.
The snapshot of global illegal downloading, carried out by anti-piracyand security firm Irdeto, found that more than 7 million Game ofThrones episodes from seasons one to four were downloaded between 5February and 6 April. The snapshot of global illegal downloading, carried out by anti-piracy and security firm Irdeto, found that more than 7m Game of Thrones episodes from seasons one to four were downloaded between 5 February and 6 April.
Game of Thrones was the world’s most pirated TV show last year and Irdeto’s research shows that overall illegal downloading of show is up 45% year-on-year over the snapshot period. Game of Thrones was the world’s most pirated TV show last year and Irdeto’s research shows that overall, illegal downloading of show is up 45% year on year over the snapshot period.
There were 4.9m downloads of episodes 1 to 3 for the same period in 2014. There were 4.9m downloads of episodes one to three for the same period in 2014.
Related: Game of Thrones season five preview: six things we need to know The download rate averaged 116,000 episodes per day over the sample period in 2015, over 36,000 per day more than the same period last year.
The download rate averaged 116,000 episodes per day over the sampleperiod in 2015, more than 36,000 per day more than the same periodlast year. The data showed that the top country for illegal downloads of Game of Thrones episodes was Brazil, which accounted for almost 1m of the downloads measured during the snapshot period.
The data showed that the top country for illegal downloads of Game ofThrones episodes was Brazil, which accounted for almost 1 million ofthe downloads measured during the snapshot period. Brazil was followed by France, the USA and Canada, with the UK ranking fifth with 275,000 downloads.
Brazil was followed by France, the USA and Canada with the UK rankingfifth with 275,000 downloads.
The top five TV shows illegally downloaded during the period were Game of Thrones (7m), The Walking Dead (5.7m), Breaking Bad (3.8m), Vikings (3.4m) and House of Cards (2.7m).The top five TV shows illegally downloaded during the period were Game of Thrones (7m), The Walking Dead (5.7m), Breaking Bad (3.8m), Vikings (3.4m) and House of Cards (2.7m).
“Piracy is a tidal wave that cannot be controlled, only managed,” saidIrdeto in the report. “There is a culture of ‘free’ where many peoplebelieve that it is acceptable to pirate these TV shows if they don’thave access to them through legal means. But if people want tocontinue to have great TV shows like Game of Thrones, business modelsneed to be protected”. “Piracy is a tidal wave that cannot be controlled, only managed,” said Irdeto in the report. “There is a culture of ‘free’, where many people believe that it is acceptable to pirate these TV shows if they don’t have access to them through legal means. But if people want to continue to have great TV shows like Game of Thrones, business models need to be protected”.